Sleuth

"Think of the perfect crime... Then go one step further."

1972 2h 18m EN

🙌

7.7

BANGER

★7.7TMDB · 751

ThrillerMysteryCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A man who loves games and theatre invites his wife's lover to meet, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.

“Think of the perfect crime... Then go one step further.”

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Cast

Laurence Olivier
Andrew Wyke
Michael Caine
Milo Tindle

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Writers: Anthony Shaffer
Languages: Italian, English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, shot by Oswald Morris. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Addison. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Marden shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joseph L. Mankiewicz directs. Oswald Morris behind the camera. John Addison scores. Richard Marden cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in Italian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
254 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, shot by Oswald Morris. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by John Addison. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Richard Marden shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Think of the perfect crime... Then go one step further.".
10IMDB entry: tt0069281 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "infidelity", "robbery", "countryside", "upper class".
12Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Oswald Morris
Original score: John Addison
Editing: Richard Marden
Production design: Ken Adam
Costume design: John Furniss
Makeup / hair: Joan White
Sound: Graham V. Hartstone
Runtime: 138 min · 2h 18m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,500,000
Box office: $5,750,000
Return: 164% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Sleuth (1972)

Also by

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-06-23
★ 7/10
“Milo” (Michael Caine) arrives at the stately pile of a renowned crime writer - a sort of male Agatha Christie, and has to navigate a complex maze to track down his voice. The dapper “Andrew” (Sir Laurence Olivier) welcomes his guest effusively and takes him into his home. It’s an Aladdin’s cave of theatrical props and costumes which leaves “Milo” a little unnerved. Not as unnerved as he’s going to get, though, when “Andrew” declares his knowledge of the affair his wife is having with him and that he’s relatively relaxed about her leaving so long as he can get the insurance on £175,000 worth of baubles. If only “Milo” can think of a way to purloin them so the police don’t suspect an inside job? Well, it’s not as if there aren’t loads of disguises available and soon the germ of a cunning plan emerges. Unfortunately for the hapless “Milo” this plan has hidden consequences which soon have him very much on the back foot. Smugly satisfied with his night’s work, “Andrew” settles down to some caviar only to find he has an unexpected visitor who meticulously upsets his plan and starts to turn the tables. Now it’s a battle of wits! Olivier and Caine hold this together really quite entertainingly aided by a really cleverly constructed plot, script, some great mechanical gadgets and a good old dose of psychologically malevolent revenge. It’s possibly the most natural I’ve ever seen Olivier on a big screen, though that might be because he’s possibly not doing so much actual acting until very near the end. Caine, likewise, proves he has more to his portfolio than his more traditional East End Charlie in a sharp suit. I didn’t really love the denouement, but en route it’s a game of two halves where jeopardy is the name of the game for them and us! It’s a classy production with two actors looking like they were having a good time, and I found that contagious .

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